A proposed change in Ohio Alcohol Law would allow folks to walk around with an open container.Senate Bill 116 allows for the creation of municipal entertainment districts in cities where the population is more than 50,000. Under the law, patrons of establishments that sell beer or liquor would be permitted to take their drinks outside of the bar or restaurant where it was purchased. Only holders of A-2 and D liquor permits would qualify under the proposed law. The "entertainment districts" would be limited to a one-half mile by one-half mile radius, and contain at least four A-2 and D...

Under Ohio DUI law, anyone with five or more convictions for OVI during the past 20 years is placed on the Ohio Habitual Offender Registry. Of course, it would not be Ohio DUI law if there were not some quirks. For example, out-of-state convictions do not count, nor do convictions more than 20 years old. You must also have at least one conviction since September 30, 2008, the date when the law took effect. Juveniles are included and dead people are not. If you are involved in one incident which results in multiple charges, the conviction only counts once for...

Mothers Against Drunk Driving and their government partners at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration want 2014 to be the year that all states expand the use of ignition interlock devices to include anyone convicted of a drunk driving offense.Currently, ignition interlock devices are used in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. However, states vary widely in how the ignition interlock devices are used and which drivers are required to install them. In West Virginia, for example, interlock devices are only ordered at a judge’s discretion while Michigan mandates their use for drivers who are found with a...

Q. Can I get limited driving privileges during the pendency of my OVI case?A court may grant limited driving privileges to a person who has had their license suspended pursuant to a pending OVI. The Ohio Revised Code, 4510.021 limits driving to the following purposes: (1) Occupational, educational, vocational, or medical purposes; (2) Taking the driver's or commercial driver's license examination; and (3) Attending court-ordered treatment. A court is granted broad discretion to impose restrictions so long as the restrictions are reasonable. While most courts will not impose an ignition interlock devise or restricted "party" plates on a first offense OVI, the statute...

Get a free cab ride with Operation Ride Safe. If you consume too much to drive this Holiday season and you are in Montgomery County your ride is free. Operation Arrive Safe, a program sponsored by the Montgomery County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and the Ohio State Highway Patrol will pay for a cab to give you a lift. This program, which was started in Christmas 2007, has provided over 800 cab rides to prevent drunk driving. If you need a cab call Operation Ride Safe at (937) 449-9999.If you want to receive updated information on sobriety checkpoints, enhanced traffic enforcement, saturation...

How can it be constitutional for the State to take my license immediately via the Administrative License Suspension?Ohio believes that driving is not a right, but a privilege. See 4511.191 If you are stopped for an OVI, DUI or drunk driving and you refuse to take a chemical test (breath, blood or urine), or if your test results exceed the legal limit of Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC), the police officer can and will take your driver’s license on the spot causing your drivers license to be suspended immediately. This pre-conviction suspension is called the ADMINISTRATIVE LICENSE SUSPENSION. The Administrative license suspension is a suspension imposed by the Ohio...

The Ohio State Highway Patrol will be conducting a Christmas DUI enforcement action along Rt. 4 beginning this weekend.The OVI Task Forces of Clark County, Hamilton County, Butler County, Montgomery County, and the Ohio State Highway Patrol will conduct an Christmas DUI enforcement blitz along State Route 4 this Friday and Saturday. In addition, the Ohio Investigative Unit will have agents working in the same area during the Christmas DUI blitz. Other Task Force member departments that are not situated along SR-4 will also have extra officers working in their areas and searching for impaired drivers.
Attorney Charles M. Rowland II dedicates...

The Xenia Municipal Court Case Lookup is a service of XeniaDUI.com and XeniaOVI.com and the offices of Babb & Rowland, Xenia's DUI law firm.The Xenia Municipal Court Case Lookup site has made looking up case information easy. Please click HERE for public information in the Xenia Municipal Court Case Lookup site. The public record information viewed on Xenia Municipal Court Public Access reflects the docket entries and information required by Ohio law to be kept by the Xenia Municipal Clerk of Courts. The Xenia Municipal Court Case Lookup information is current as of the previous business day and information is only...

Drugged Driving defense attorneys are going to have to learn about the ARIDE program. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s ARIDE course is described as a bridge between the Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST) and Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) courses. ARIDE, which stands for Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement, is a 16-hour course that claims to teach officers how to look for signs of drug impairment (drugged driving) during traffic stops. The SFST program trains officers to identify and assess drivers suspected of being under the influence of alcohol, while the DEC/DRE program provides more advanced training to evaluate suspected...

The days between Christmas and New Year's Day are targeted for DUI enforcement via the government's "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" campaign. Law enforcement in Ohio every State and most U.S. towns and cities will be cracking down on drunk driving from December 13 through New Year's Day. You can also expect a full media "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" blitz with the now familiar "they will see you before you see them" warnings. [Editor's Note: Could there be a more tone deaf message in this age of government surveillance?] Stay tuned to this blog and our Facebook,...